Gombe State has recorded 54 deaths from snakebites in 2025, the State Epidemiologist, Dr Nuhu Bile, disclosed on Tuesday.
He revealed this during the State Public Health Emergency Management Committee (PHEMC) meeting in Gombe, chaired by Deputy Governor Manassah Jatau.
Dr Bile said that a total of 1,591 snakebite cases were reported at the Snakebite Hospital in Kaltungo this year, representing the lowest number in four years. Despite the decline in cases compared to 2,794 in 2022, 2,594 in 2023, and 2,189 in 2024, he explained that the reduction did not reflect a real decrease in the disease burden.
“The low attendance at the hospital is largely due to the lack of free and adequate anti-snake venom,” Bile said. “Many victims resort to alternative treatments and only seek hospital care when cases become complicated.”
Apart from snakebites, Gombe recorded 176 cholera cases with five deaths and 14 Lassa fever cases with eight fatalities in 2025.
A UNICEF consultant, Dr Jibril Muhammad, who led a team at the meeting, praised Gombe’s efforts in managing cholera and encouraged other states to adopt similar strategies. He noted that several states in Nigeria are currently battling outbreaks of five major diseases, with cholera affecting the majority.
Muhammad urged stakeholders to consistently implement public health plans to mitigate outbreaks in their respective states.
